Texans running back – Page 21 – Syndication Server

Texans’ Phillip Lindsay says he doesn’t need weight to be an effective running back

Houston Texans running back Phillip Lindsay says he does not need to be a bigger back to be an effective back.

At 5-8, 190 pounds, Phillip Lindsay is anything but a big running back.

However, the former Pro Bowler had a big falloff in the 2020 season when he barely got over 500 yards on 118 carries. He scored just one touchdown on the ground through 11 games, eight of which he started.

Not being in an offseason program for 2020 due to the COVID-19 lockdowns meant that Lindsay became a bigger back, but in a negative way.

“For me this year, it was a lot of times of — I think overdid a lot of stuff last year,” Lindsay told Houston reporters on a Zoom call on Wednesday. “First year not being in a structured thing where you’re in the building, so you’re kind of all by yourself. I think that for me, I went and got a little heavier last year and I did well, but that wasn’t my game. For me, I want to be light, I want to be fast. I’m already strong as it is. I don’t need no weight. I just need to get it from point A to point B to score a touchdown. That’s my goal.”

Lindsay produced two consecutive seasons with 1,000 yards rushing in his first two seasons with the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent. The secret to Lindsay’s 31 games played over the first two years was learning how to not get hit.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re big or small, we all have the same ligaments, same joints,” said Lindsay. “If you get hit the wrong way, you’re going to get hurt. For anybody, it’s anybody. People want to put that stigma on you if you’re a little running back. That’s not how it goes. You’re a grown man and at the end of the day, you have to handle your business. It doesn’t matter if you’re, tall, small, big. At the end of the day, you’re a grown man. You’ve got grown man strength. You just got to, one, pray and hope that you can stay healthy. That’s what a lot of it’s about, is making sure you don’t get hit the wrong way.”

As Lindsay has joined the Texans, the 26-year-old has focused on his diet, getting adequate rest, and maintaining his flexibility by practicing Taekwondo.

“The rest of it, man, you’ve just got to pray that it’s your year with the health,” Lindsay said.

Phillip Lindsay on Texans canceling mandatory minicamp: ‘I think we did a great job of coming together’

Houston Texans running back Phillip Lindsay is in favor of nixing mandatory minicamp as he believes the team got plenty of work done in OTAs.

The Houston Texans have elected not to hold their mandatory minicamp, first-year head coach David Culley announced during a Zoom press conference on Wednesday.

The decision came after Culley and team leaders felt the organization had great attendance, and accomplished their goals during the four-week voluntary organized team activities period — an objective both parties agreed upon a little over a month ago. Houston’s three-day mandatory minicamp was set for June 15-17.

“There are new players on this team, but a lot of us have been in the league for a long time,” running back Phillip Lindsay said. “I think we did a great job of coming together and we have a veteran-heavy team. People already knew what they needed to do. And we know what we need to do in order to have a successful season.”

After the decision to forgo mandatory minicamp, the Texans are the fourth team in the league to cancel — joining the Indianapolis Colts, Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers.

“We felt like we needed to make sure for a least a good four weeks, we had as many players here as possible to learn our culture, system and new defense with all of the new players we have,” Culley said. “We got accomplished what we wanted to accomplish. And felt like getting them here was more important than having those two and a half days of minicamp.”

The cancellation of mandatory minicamp does not mean players will take the near month and a half off before the start of training camp in July. Second-year prospect Jonathan Greenard said he will “relax a bit,” but will continue to get his workouts in on the daily basis. Texans to begin training camp on July 27 at NRG Stadium.

Noticeable Texans players who did not attend voluntary OTAs in addition to Deshaun Watson: Tytus Howard, Laremy Tunsil, Whitney Mercilus, and Zach Cunningham.

RB Phillip Lindsay ready to revamp Texans’ running game

Houston Texans running back Phillip Lindsay is looking forward to the challenge of getting the run game back to being highly productive.

The Houston Texans revamped their backfield after a subpar run game in 2020. First-year general manager Nick Caserio added Mark Ingram and Phillip Lindsay as free agents while retaining David Johnson, who led the team in rushing last season (691).

Upon the start of the 2021 season, Houston has an intriguing backfield that features three Pro-Bowl running backs, each of which who has a legitimate chance to be hailed as the Texans’ starting back come Week 1 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

“When it comes to competition, you have to understand it is a 17-game season and we are going to need each other,” Lindsay said following OTA practice on Wednesday. “The closer we are with each other, it’s going to feel more like a family. And I think we are building that right now.”

Fourth-year running back coach Danny Barrett said he believes the depth at the position is enough to improve the Texans’ run game this coming season. In 2020, Houston ended the year second to last in average rushing, recorded 91.6 yards on the ground through 16 games.

The most significant upgrade to the Texans run game this year could be Lindsay.

The 26-year-old running back from Denver is seeking redemption after a subpar individual season during his final year with the Broncos. After signing with his hometown team as an undrafted free agent in 2018, Lindsay has rushed for over 1,000 yards twice in his first three career seasons.

“He has energy and juice,” first-year coach David Culley said. “In a way, I kinda see myself in him. We know what he has done throughout his career, and he has been that same guy since he has been here with us. He has fit in perfectly with our running back group.”

Lindsay expects the Texans’ running back group to surprise people and believes they can do great things together as a core. The one player he is most excited to work alongside and learn from in Houston is Ingram, who Lindsay said he grew up watching as a little kid.

“You can always learn, and that is life in general,” he said. “If somebody tells you they are done learning, they are wrong. You can always learn something. For me, it is great to have someone like Mark Ingram in the room. He is a great due. This is a great running back room, and we are going to surprise a lot of people.”

Mark Ingram explains why he kicked the Texans logo in 2020

Houston Texans RB Mark Ingram explains why he once kicked the logo when playing for the Baltimore Ravens in Week 2 of 2020.

Mark Ingram torched the Houston Texans when he was a running back for the Baltimore Ravens from 2019-20. However, his most searing memory in the minds of Texans fans came in Week 2 of 2020 when he kicked the Texans’ logo.

After scoring a 30-yard touchdown on fourth-and-1 with 12:04 to go in the game to put the Ravens up 30-13, Ingram dashed over to the empty stands and roundhouse kicked the Texans logo.

“You got to have fun,” Ingram told Drew Dougherty and John Harris on “Texans TV” published April 12. “We work our butts off. So, when you hit a big play that you’ve been working on in a game in a crucial moment on fourth-and-1, like, you celebrate. You do it with your teammates. You just have fun and you enjoy the moment.”

https://youtu.be/mr8WK4RDnK0

As to where Ingram learned to execute a roundhouse kick with such mastery, the three-time Pro Bowl running back says he learned all he needed from watching the “Ip Man” series of films.

“Ip Man, go check it out,” said Ingram. “If y’all ain’t seen Ip Man 1, Ip Man 2, Ip Man 3, they all legit. You’ll see where I got the roundhouse from.”

The Texans signed Ingram to a one-year, $3 million contract. The former New Orleans Saints 2011 first-round pick says he hopes “to make better memories” with his new team.

The Texans may have brought in RB Mark Ingram to do more than run the football

The Houston Texans may have added former New Orleans Saints and Baltimore Ravens RB Mark Ingram to do more than just carry the football.

Starting running back David Johnson carried 147 times for 697 yards and six touchdowns as the Houston Texans staggered to a 4-12 finish in 2020.

The Texans’ solution to fix the running game was to sign a veteran older than Johnson. However, Houston may not have inked running back Mark Ingram to a one-year, $3 million contract to simply replace Johnson. The former New Orleans Saints 2011 first-round pick comes with a sense of responsibility that he must pass down the game to the next generation.

“You got to pass the game down,” Ingram told John Harris and Drew Dougherty of “Texans TV” in an interview published April 13. “I’ve had guys that when I was young do that for me from Drew Brees to Darren Sproles to Will Smith, rest in peace, New Orleans Saints, Marcus Colston, Roman Harper, Lance Moore, just so many good veterans that I had to come in and learn from when I was a young rookie. So, just being able to pass down successes, pass down failures, pass down getting knocked down and getting back up, and just being able to pass down just how to stay level-headed, just control what you can control, prepare yourself to be the best player you can be.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mr8WK4RDnK0

Ingram, 31, knows that one of the keys to helping Houston have success in 2021 and beyond is the encouragement of the younger players.

Said Ingram: “You just have to share those experiences to encourage young guys and that’s just how you pass the game down. That’s how you develop a camaraderie within your team. That’s how you develop a love and a bond with your team that is unmatched. When you have that bond within your locker room, it flows to the playing field. You got to hold each other accountable. You’re not going to let your guy down next to you.

“So, when you have those type of conversations and those type of transparencies within your locker room between everybody, you really get to know each other, really get to develop a bond and a love for one another that flows into how you play on the field for one another. So, it all goes hand-in-hand and it’s all relevant.”

The Texans also have former Denver Broncos Pro Bowl running back Phillip Linsday on the roster, who will turn 27 on July 24, but can still benefit from Ingram’s wisdom.

RB Mark Ingram says he can bring accountability to Texans locker room

Newly signed running back Mark Ingram says that he can help bring accountability to the Houston Texans locker room.

The Houston Texans signed 31-year-old Pro Bowl running back Mark Ingram to bolster their running back stable.

However, the former 2011 New Orleans Saints first-round pick, who spent the last two seasons of his career with the Baltimore Ravens after his stint in New Orleans, believes he can bring more to the Texans’ locker room than another back who can carry the ball.

“I think you just need to have a group of guys that care about one another, a group of guys who want to hold each other accountable,” Ingram said. “When you line up next to that person in the huddle, you know you can depend on him and you know he’s depending on you and it just has to be that you’re going to go hard and execute your assignments to the best of your ability.

“You don’t have to do anybody else’s assignment. You just have to focus on doing your assignment. You win your job, you win your play, if every person on offense, if every person on defense, if every person on special teams does that, it’ll be a successful play.”

Part of Ingram’s formative years came playing with Super Bowl MVP quarterback Drew Brees. The Saints qualified for the playoffs four times during Ingram’s playing days from 2011-18, going as far as overtime in the 2018 NFC Championship Game.

“If you have 10 people doing it right and one person doing it wrong, we’ve got to hold each other accountable or somebody has to pick up the slack for that,” said Ingram. “Everybody has to have each other’s back. Everyone has to have a bond on and off the field. It’s one that you never want to let your brother down, that you want to win, you want to be great and accomplish something special. You just want to have that mindset, that mentality in the locker room and amongst your team.”

Ingram carried 72 times for 299 yards and two touchdowns in his 11 games with Baltimore last season, starting in nine contests.

Texans RB Mark Ingram reflects on playing with ‘the GOAT’ Drew Brees

Houston Texans running back Mark Ingram reflects on playing with former New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees.

Mark Ingram is gearing up to represent his third franchise — this time as a member of the Houston Texans — as he enters his 11th season in the league. Prior to his two-year stint with the Baltimore Ravens, Ingram began his career with the New Orleans Saints — where he played eight seasons alongside Drew Brees.

During Ingram’s media availability on Wednesday, the three-time Pro-Bowler took time to honor Brees, after his former teammate retired after a Hall-of-Fame career.

“Just coming in as a rookie, learning how to be a pro, learning how to approach walkthroughs, learning how to approach film, learning how to approach practice, learning how to approach body recovery,” Ingram said. “All those things – how locked in he was at walk-throughs. Paying attention to detail, always wanting to be perfect, striving for that perfection.”

Ingram joined the Saints a year after the organization won their lone Super Bowl title in 2011. The Brees-Ingram pairing led the Saints to a 76-52 record, with four post-season appearances.

Ingram’s best season with the Saints came in 2017 when he rushed for a career-best 1,124 yards and 12 touchdowns in 16 games. He finished his career in New Orleans with the second-most rushing yards in franchise history (6007) — trailing Deuce McAllister by 89 total yards.

After 20 years in the league, Brees ends his career as one of the greatest quarterbacks in league history. A Super Bowl MVP winner in 2010, Brees ends his career as the NFL’s all-time leader in most career passing yards (80,358), most career pass completions (7,142) and tied for the most touchdown passes in a game (7).

“I think his legacy is just he’s played this game, was a great human being, a great father, a great husband, a great teammate, a great humanitarian and obviously one of the best to do it statistically ever in the NFL,” Ingram said. “He’s the GOAT. First ballot Hall of Fame person, first ballot Hall of Fame quarterback. He deserves everything that’s coming for him in retirement.”

RB Mark Ingram is bringing a chip on his shoulder to the Texans

Newly acquired Houston Texans RB Mark Ingram is bringing a chip on his shoulder to the AFC South club after his exit from the Baltimore Ravens.

Mark Ingram earned a Pro Bowl in 2019 as the Baltimore Ravens rushed their way to a 14-2 record and home-field advantage in the AFC playoffs.

In 2020, Ingram had a paltry 72 carries for 299 yards and two touchdowns through 11 games, nine of which he started. It was the fewest carries and yards of his career.

Ingram seeks to rejuvenate his career at 31 years old and on his third NFL team.

“Yeah, that was bad how that ended,” Ingram told Houston reporters on a Zoom call March 31. “It wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t ideal for how I wanted that season to go or how I thought my season would go and for me to be able to help my team in the playoffs and just winning.”

Ingram says the lack of games played is a “blessing in disguise” as he starts his next chapter in Houston.

“I feel super healthy,” said Ingram. “I feel super explosive. I’m springy right now. I feel like I’m going into this off season healthier than I have in the past few offseasons. Just my body feels great. I’ve been training, I’ve been working and my body feels great. I’m running around good and moving good, so I’m just excited I can get a great, strong offseason of working and training and taking care of my body to put my best foot forward.”

Ingram will be part of a three-man backfield that features former All-Pro David Johnson and Pro Bowler Phillip Lindsay, who was previously with the Denver Broncos.

Said Ingram: “I still feel like I can play my best football. I feel like my best football is still ahead of me. Unless you look at my birth certificate, you can’t tell that I’m 31 years old by the way I play, by the way I run, by the way I move. I feel like my game still has a lot left in the tank and I’m excited to go out there and prove that.”

Ingram has familiarity with the Texans already in that the new coach, David Culley, was the receivers coach and passing game coordinator for the Ravens from 2019-20.

Texans RB David Johnson welcomes new competition with Mark Ingram and Phillip Lindsay

In 2021, David Johnson will be returning for his second season with the Houston Texans. There is a strong possibility that he will reclaim his role as Houston’s starting running back come Week 1 of the regular season. But there will be stiff …

Texans’ first-year general manager Nick Caserio signed free agents Mark Ingram and Phillip Lindsay to improve Houston’s depth in the backfield — running backs who have put together Pro-Bowl worthy seasons long after Johnson’s All-Pro honors in 2016.

“I think it’ll make us all compete because we all want to play,” Johnson said during his Zoom conference on Monday. “Competition is going to make us all better and it’s going to start in the spring. I think with us competing against each other, trying to make each other better and we all trying to see the field, it’s going to make our team better, make our running game better and make our offense better.”

Both Ingram and Lindsay have eclipsed over 1,000 yards in rushing twice since 2016. After a career season four years ago, Johnson has yet to accomplish the feat again.

Last season, the Texans had arguably their worst run game in franchise history. Houston ended the season rushing for 1,466 total yards — the Texans’ worse since their inaugural season in 2002 (1,347).

With a backfield featuring Ingram, Johnson and Lindsay, the Texans will have an improved run game in 2021 regardless of the starter.

“I think it will help out a lot with this team, with the team morale and getting everyone going, especially with this run game,” Johnson said. “It was a tough running game last year and hopefully we can all, all three of us, can contribute and get this thing going.”

Texans RB David Johnson focuses on health, comfortability to improve in 2021

Houston Texans running back David Johnson is focusing on improving his health and comfortability with the offense to excel in 2021.

David Johnson did not have the type of season to justify why he was the grand prize in the Houston Texans’ decision to depart from DeAndre Hopkins. He appeared in 12 games where he recorded 691 rushing yards on 147 attempts and six touchdowns on the season.

Johnson was far from the player that earned him All-Pro honors in 2016 with the Arizona Cardinals. But a bulk of his struggles in 2020 was the result of his health.

A concussion placed Johnson on injured reserve for three weeks, and he missed a game upon his return due to the NFL’s health and safety protocols due to COVID-19.

On the heels of his second season with the Texans, Johnson’s primary focus in 2021 will be on his health and comfortability with his teammates.

“The biggest thing is just staying healthy and trying to get comfortable with my teammate,” Johnson said via Zoom on Monday. “Being able to trust in them, and for them to trust in me that I can do my job first and foremost. With me going into my second year, I think we could get more comfortable.”

As a veteran with several lingering injuries, Johnson said his goal this coming season is to spend as much time in the training room as possible. It would allow Johnson to strengthen his mobility and range of motion in an attempt to improve his health. Despite his struggles throughout the season, Johnson’s last three games were a testament that the 29-year-old running back has a lot left in the tank.

To close out the Texans’ 4-12 season, Johnson posted 239 yards on the ground on 34 attempts, to go along with two touchdowns. As a pass-catcher coming out of the backfield, he posted 153 yards on 17 catches — missing only two targets.

“It’s motivation,” he said. “Just knowing that I can still contribute in the run game and be an effective player — it’s just motivation. I feel like with those three last games I had last year, it gave me a lot of momentum going into this next season.”

Johnson will be returning to the Texans after the reconstruction of his contract. His new deal is worth a projected $6 million with $4.25 million fully guaranteed.